I put my arm around her and kissed her cheek. “That’s because we have the best mom and dad in the world.”
My dad announced that it was time to scatter the ashes and for everyone to gather around. He first made sure we all had drinks in our hands. Amelia walked over to me and put her arm around my waist. We all stood and watched as my dad took the lid off the urn and let Denny’s ashes go.
“Goodbye, my friend. May you be at peace and have an eternity filled with happiness.”
“To Denny,” I said as I held up my glass.
“To Denny,” everyone followed.
Once the ashes were scattered and my dad dried his tears, he walked up to me and Julia and wrapped his arms around both of us. “I love you two very much.”
“We love you too, Dad,” Julia and I both said at the same time.
He patted us on our backs and smiled. “Now, I’m going to go rescue my grandson from Mason.”
****
I stroked her hair as she lay in my arms, sound asleep. I watched her chest slowly move up and down with each breath. The fact that I still hadn’t told her about the beach house was haunting me. I couldn’t wait until the summer to tell her. I had to tell her as soon as we got back to New York. She opened her eyes and then closed them again as the corners of her mouth curved up. Her hand, which lay on my chest, moved down my torso and down the front of my underwear. She lightly took hold of my erection and opened one eye while she smiled at me.
“You’re so hard.” She smiled.
“I always am when I’m with you.”
“Well, let’s put that hard-on to good use, shall we?” she asked as she climbed out from under my arms and got on top of me.
“You’re my kind of girl.” I smiled as I took her breast in my mouth.
“And you’re my kind of guy,” she said as she slowly placed my cock inside her.
I thrust my hips as my teeth tugged on her erect nipple. She sat up, taking my entire length inside her as she let out a soft moan. Her hips moved back and forth as she rode me slowly. I threw my head back at the intense pleasure she was giving me. She was dripping wet and I could feel it running down my balls.
“Baby, you feel so good.”
“So do you,” she whispered as she continued to move.
I reached up and grasped her breasts with my hands and kneaded them, paying special attention to her hard nipples, which my fingers liked to play with. Her hips started to move faster and I could feel her swelling around me.
“Do it, baby. Come all over me.”
“Collin. Collin. Oh my God,” she whispered as her body tightened and she released herself, forcing me to spill inside her.
“Ah,” I moaned and I thrust my hips up and stayed buried deep inside her.
She collapsed on top of me and buried her face into my neck. “Good morning.”
“And what a good morning it is.” I smiled as I kissed her head.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. “Breakfast is ready, you two,” my dad said.
“Okay, Dad. We’ll be down in a minute.”
Amelia rolled off of me and started laughing. “What if he would have walked in and saw me lying on top of you?”
“Then we would’ve given him a show.” I winked.
“Collin, that’s not funny.”
“Yeah, it is. Did I ever tell you about the time he walked in on Julia having sex for the first time?”
“Oh my God! Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. Ask her about it some time. I thought he was going to murder her. Come on; we better get dressed and get downstairs before someone comes up here and breaks down the door.”
Louise made us an amazing breakfast, as always. I took my plate and joined my mom, dad, and Amelia outside on the patio. I looked down towards the beach and saw Jacob in the water with Mason.
“Son, I want you to join me today when I talk to Diana. We’re also going to take her to the art gallery. There’s a house down the beach for sale. It’s smaller. They don’t need this big of a house for the two of them. I have the house on hold, and if Diana decides she wants to move here, then I’ll rent it out to her.”
“Okay, Dad. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
“I spoke with her last night down on the beach and she told me how beautiful it was here and that she really liked it. So, we’ll see. I called Joel at the art gallery and told him our plan. He said he’s excited to meet Diana and he’ll help in any way he can. Your mother and I had dinner last night with Ian and Rory and they said that they’d also keep an eye on her and Jacob if she decided to move here.”
“Great. It sounds like you have everything covered.”
My mom and dad both got up from their seats. “As soon as you’re finished eating, we’ll talk with her. Amelia can spend the day with your mom and Julia. They’re going shopping.”
“Oh, I love to shop.” She smiled.
“They have the cutest little shops here. I can’t wait to show you them and you don’t have to worry about bringing any money because our shopping trip is on Connor today. Isn’t it, sweetheart?” She smiled as she ran her hand down his cheek.
“Yes, I guess it is. Feel free to buy whatever you like,” my dad said.
They walked into the house and I leaned over and smiled at Amelia. “Make sure you buy a lot and if you see anything you think I’d like, buy it.”
“Collin, stop that.” She giggled.
“No, I’m serious, and trust me, my mom will make you buy something.”
We finished our breakfast and took our plates inside. I gave Louise a kiss on the cheek and thanked her for the great meal. Amelia went upstairs to change into a sundress to go shopping in, and I decided to go down to the beach to see Jacob and Mason. When I walked down, I saw a young girl talking to Jacob. I walked over to Mason, who was standing a few feet away from them.
“Hey, Mason. Who’s that?”
“I’m not sure. We were getting out of the water and she just came walking up.”
“That’s cute. She’s a cute kid.”
A few moments later, the girl left and Jacob walked over to where Mason and I were standing.
“Hey, bro. Who was that?” I asked.
“Her name is Lexi and she lives in a house way down the beach.”
“Was she hitting on you?” I smiled.
“Knock it off, Collin.” He smiled back. “She has cystic fibrosis too,” he said as we started walking towards the house.
“Really? How did that come up?”
“She started coughing a little and it sounded like mine, so I told her that I cough like that sometimes, and she told me.”
I could tell that Jacob was happy because he finally met someone that was like him. As we walked in the house, the women were getting ready to leave to go shopping and my dad had arranged for Jake and Mason to spend the day with Jacob. I gave Amelia a hug and kiss goodbye.
“Remember, my dad’s buying. Shop. Shop. Shop.”
She giggled and playfully smacked me on the chest. “I’ll do my best. I love you.”
“I love you too, baby.”
****
“What did you want to talk about, Connor?” Diana asked as we went and sat outside.
“Collin, why don’t you start?” my dad said.
“You two have me very nervous,” Diana spoke.
I reached over and grabbed her hand. “Don’t be nervous, Diana. I just don’t know how to say this.”
“Are you firing me?” she asked with a look of fear in her eyes.
“Oh my God, no!” I said. I cleared my throat and took in a deep breath. “I think you and Jacob need to move to California.”
She laughed. “Yeah, right. I can’t move,” she said as she looked at my dad.
“You saw how much better Jacob was at the beach house in the Hamptons and you see the difference in him since we got here to California. I think this would be the best place for him.”
“That’s nice of you to think tha
t, Collin, and believe me, I would love to move here for Jacob, but it’s not possible.”
“What if my dad and I made it possible?”
“What? What are you talking about?” she asked in confusion.
My dad took over. “Diana, I have a house that’s just down the beach that I am renting out and I want to rent it to you. I think it would make an incredible home for you and Jacob.”
“But, Connor, what about my job?”
My dad looked away because he didn’t want to lose her as his secretary. “I have another job here for you. You’d be making a little more money and you’d still have all the same health benefits. But instead of working in an office setting, you’d be working at my art gallery. It’s only a twenty-minute drive from here.”
Tears started to fill her eyes. “I...I...I can’t. You’ve done way too much for me already and there’s no way I could accept anything else.”
“They have programs here, Diana. Programs that work with kids and cystic fibrosis. It’s way better here than in New York. Jacob loves the water. He loves the beach; you’ve seen how happy it makes him, and today, he met a little girl who also has cystic fibrosis. Her name is Lexi and she lives in a house somewhere along the beach,” I said.
The tears that filled her eyes began to stream down her face. My dad looked at me and shook his head. He placed his hand on her arm. “No tears, Diana. If you want to move here, we’ll make it happen for you and Jacob. But the decision is completely yours. Would you like to go look at the house? Then, after, we’ll take you to the art gallery.”
She nodded her head and my dad handed her a tissue. “Great; let’s go see the house.” I smiled.
We spent the rest of the afternoon looking at the house and then at the art gallery. My dad introduced Diana to Joel and they hit it off right away. I nudged my dad and he told me to knock it off. Diana seemed to love the house and the art gallery. I was almost positive she was going to move here.
“Take some time and think about it,” my dad said to her. “Talk to Jacob and see what he wants.”
“Thank you so much, Connor and Collin. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve the two of you in my life. You are the most incredibly giving people I’ve ever met.”
“Aw, stop.” I smiled.
We drove back to the house and Diana told Jacob that just the two of them were going out for pizza because she had something she needed to talk to him about.
Chapter 33
We flew back to New York, back to the snow and cold. I wanted to stay longer in California, but there was business to be done and everyone had to get back to work or school. Amelia still had another week left before her classes and clinicals started up again. Diana had a long talk with Jacob and they both decided that they were going to move to California. On one hand, I was really happy because Jacob would be doing better, but on the other hand, I was sad because I was going to miss them both terribly.
“What’s wrong?” Amelia said as she sat down next to me on the couch.
“Nothing much. I was just thinking about how weird it’s going to be not to see Jacob all the time.”
“I know. But you said yourself it’s in his best interest to move to California. Plus, think of how happy he’ll be and how much better he’ll feel.”
“Come here,” I said as I pulled her on to my lap. “Have I told you today that I love you?”
“No. I don’t think you have. You better tell me.” She smiled.
“I love you, Miss Gray, and tomorrow, we’re going somewhere. Just me and you.”
“I love you, Mr. Black. Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out tomorrow, baby. Now, enough talk. Kiss me.”
She gave me her amazing smile and brushed her lips against mine. As our kiss became passionate and I practically had her shirt off, there was a knock at the door.
“Collin, it’s Julia. I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer your phone.”
I looked at Amelia and she laughed. I got up, adjusted myself, and opened the door.
“Hey, Julia. What’s up?”
“Can you watch Brayden for a while? Jake and I need to run some errands and we’d get done quicker if Brayden wasn’t with us.”
I looked at her as she held him in her arms. I knew my sister and I knew her well.
“You and Jake want to have sex with no baby in the house.”
She looked down at Brayden. “No. Why would you say something like that?”
“I know when you lie, Julia.”
“Okay, fine,” she said sternly as she walked into my apartment. “Jake and I want some time alone because every time we start to make love, our sweet son starts to scream. I can’t have an orgasm with my son screaming! I need to make love to my husband without any interruptions. Is that so much to ask?”
“Julia, TMI!” I said. I took my nephew from her arms and kissed her on the cheek. “Go and spend some time with your husband. In fact, have sex a few times and don’t worry about Brayden. Where are Mom and Dad?”
“They went out to dinner with Peyton and Henry. Thank you, Collin. I owe you.”
“No, you don’t. You know I’m always here for you.”
She set the diaper bag on the table, kissed Brayden goodbye, and headed back to her apartment. I stood in the middle of the room and looked at Amelia, who was smiling on the couch.
“What?”
“You are so sexy, holding him. I know you’re going to be an amazing dad someday.”
I walked over to the couch and sat down. “And you’re going to make an amazing mom.”
I leaned in to kiss her and Brayden started to cry. We both laughed and now I sort of saw what Julia was talking about.
****
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Amelia asked.
“You’ll see when we get there.” I smiled as I tapped her on the nose.
We climbed into the Range Rover and headed towards the Hamptons. Worry consumed me because I didn’t know how Amelia was going to react when I told her that I was the one who bought the house. A part of me said that she’d be thrilled, while the other part said she was going to be pissed.
“Are we going to The Hamptons?” she asked.
I couldn’t lie to her. “Yes,” I replied.
“Why? It’s the middle of winter.”
“I know, but there’s something there I want you to see.”
We pulled onto the street of the beach house and I pulled into the driveway.
“Why are we here?”
“Follow me, baby,” I said as I took her hand and unlocked the front door.
“Why do you have a key to my old house?”
“This is my house now. Our house. I’m the one who bought it.”
“What? Why would you do that? Do you know how long ago that was and you’ve been keeping it from me?” she said in a raised voice.
“Yes, and I’m sorry. I wanted it to be the right time to tell you.”
“This is the right time?”
“I don’t know. But what I do know is that I couldn’t keep it from you anymore.”
She looked at me with daggers and shook her head. “I can’t believe you. Why would you buy this?”
“Because I know how much it means to you. You said yourself that you didn’t want to sell it.”
“But I didn’t want you to buy it. Fuck, Collin. That really pisses me off! And then the fact that you kept it from me all these months.”
She was mad. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her this angry before. “Amelia, I’m sorry.”
“How could you keep something like that from me? If you could so easily hide that, then it makes me wonder what else you haven’t told me.”
“That’s not fair. I’ve never kept anything from you except this,” I said as I raised my voice.
“I want to leave right now.”
“We just got here.”
She opened the door and got in the Range Rover. I sighed and shook my head as I locked the f
ront door and climbed in next to her. I reached over and grabbed her hand. She pulled away.
“Baby, please. I’m so sorry.”
“This wasn’t just a small purchase. This was huge and it’s just not something a boyfriend does.”
“He does if he has money,” I said.
“So you think that because you have money, you can just do whatever the hell you want? I’m so mad at you, Collin. Please, just don’t say another word to me and take me home. I just want to go home.”
I started the car and tore out of the driveway. There was complete silence the entire ride home. When we entered the apartment, Amelia went to the bedroom and took her bag from the closet.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m going to stay with Cheri for a couple of days at her apartment. I just can’t stay here right now.”
“Amelia, please. Don’t do this. I didn’t do anything wrong. For fuck’s sake, I did this for you!” I screamed.
“I need to think. I need time alone. God, Collin. I can’t believe you did that,” she said as she walked out the door.
I paced back and forth throughout the apartment, trying to make rhyme or reason out of all of this. I went to my cabinet and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. I took a glass from the cupboard and sat down on the couch. I looked at the glass before I poured some whiskey and set it down on the table. Fuck the glass. I drank it straight from the bottle. I drank almost the whole bottle and I was trashed off my ass. I got up from the couch and fell onto the floor. The room was spinning and, when I closed my eyes, it was worse. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and I heard my dad call my name.
“Collin. What the hell is going on? Are you okay?”
The door was unlocked, and when I didn’t answer him, he walked in and saw me lying on the floor. “Son, what happened? Where’s Amelia?”
“She left.”
“Oh God, you reek of whiskey.”
He pulled out his phone and I heard him talking to Jake.
“Jake, I need you to come across the hall and help me get Collin up to the penthouse. He’s drunk.”
“Dad, I’m not going to the penthouse,” I slurred as I tried to get up, but managed to fall over.